- This summer, East Lansing was hit with a 200-year and 1000-year rain event just over a month apart from each other, causing neighborhood-wide impacts.
- Tuesday, the East Lansing City Council discussed a resolution that would temporarily pause new developments from presenting their plans to the city, unless they include steps to limit storm runoff.
- Video shows City Manager Robert Belleman discussing the resolution and the impacts it could have.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
I'm your East Lansing Neighborhood Reporter Colin Jankowski. It wasn't too long ago that this parking lot behind me was filled with flood waters up to the windows of cars, totalling dozens of them. It was just one area impacted by flood waters during this summer's storms, and Tuesday, the City of East Lansing continued conversations about preventing future floods.
"June 17 was a 200-year rain event, and July 9 and 10 was a 1000-year rain event," City Manager Robert Belleman said.
Events becoming more common in East Lansing now leading to action. The East Lansing City Council discussed a new resolution that would hit pause on new developments in the city, until they can set up weather resiliency guidelines.
"If we have more development that would add more runoff to the existing infrastructure, the stormwater infrastructure, you can't move forward until we look at our stormwater standards," Belleman said.
I spoke with City Manager Robert Belleman ahead of Tuesday's meeting. He says in addition to new development, it would also cover redevelopment projects in the neighborhood.
"So anytime someone paves a parking lot or adds a shed or maybe puts in a patio, all of that drives additional runoff," Belleman said.
And in turn contributes to the flood issue in East Lansing. Belleman says while this could lay the groundwork for runoff management as new developments come in, another factor must be balanced during the process—the cost.
"Do we put retention basins under some of our parks to help hold that water during these larger rain events, and what's the price tag on that," Belleman said. "It's in the millions of dollars. And then do we pay for that?"
No action was taken by the council during Tuesday's meeting, but we'll continue to follow the steps the city takes to try and mitigate flooding in the future.
Want to see more local news? Visit the FOX47News Website.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.
Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox.
Select from these options: Neighborhood News, Breaking News, Severe Weather, School Closings, Daily Headlines, and Daily Forecasts.
